Spammy website dominating SERPs! Why!?
-
Hey guys,
I've recently noticed that a series of EMDs have been setup to completely spam an extensive set of keywords - and it seems to be working.
All of the URLs are keyword targeted with tons of keyword variations. And they're getting massive ranking preference over a number of more established websites.
These are just an example of some of the domains;
And then there's loads of local targeted domains such as;
Again, all of these are getting high ranking with what seems to be duplicated websites. It's pretty bizarre.
Will Google penalise these sites? Surely they will?
-
It really isn't that simple though, is it?
We're always at the mercy of Google's Algorithm and, unfortunately, the search engine is still in a certain state that it can still give preference to websites that don't have great content. In fact, websites with rubbish content.
-
I agree with EGOL, why focus on what these low-level spammers are doing, wouldnt it be better to focus on the BEST content you can create for that clients target customer and aim to make your client the BEST company in that industry?
Great Content = Great Traffic = Great Customers = Great Conversion = Great Profits = Great Client.....it really is that simple!
-
I agree with Irving, "It's just a matter of time until they get penalized." - lots hope its not that long.
Yes, this is it.
I read many of your posts on here, and if I was to ask you if I should do what they a have done with a site, I would guess you would say no - you need to create great content, lots of really great content and post it directly to your own site etc etc - right?
That is what I am doing every day on each of my sites.
For information sites I am trying to make the best page on the web for that topic.
For retail sites I have product pages that are about like everyone else's page - maybe a bit more wordy... but then I have lots of information pages that I try to make the best-on-the-web for that topic.
I attack everything with that method... and pay very little attention to the tricks that others are doing. It takes my eye off of the ball.
-
I don't think it is that simple.
They are a known scam out fit, operating under multiple names and ripping customers off. There are countless cases online of customers being scammed by using these sites. However, seemingly they create a new domain, and get ranked.
Thats fair enough, if they are able to do that they should be SEOs, however, its a clear scam, with replicated sites. Sites with no links, poor content and new domains - great SEO
And is that in-line with what is perceived to deliver rankings? Egol, I read many of your posts on here, and if I was to ask you if I should do what they a have done with a site, I would guess you would say no - you need to create great content, lots of really great content and post it directly to your own site etc etc - right?
So, how can a site, or rather multiple sites like this, with zero content, zero links (some have anchor text rich links from forums) and new registered domains, mostly on the same server, beat long established, big name companies in the UK (and no, not sites I have worked on) within days of registering a new domain, and then, not only stay there, but move up the rankings?
Its not that simple.
I agree with Irving, "It's just a matter of time until they get penalized." - lots hope its not that long.
-
I like Irving's answer... my initial impression is...
These are not EMDs. If you are not beating them then they have either earned their positions or you haven't.
I think it is that simple.
-
A further check reveals that the operators of these sites appear to be scam artists. I've checked and they own over 200 domains, many of them registered this year, all with similar EMDs.
There are also many many sites with customer reviews compalining about being scammed by them: http://www.reviewcentre.com/Kitchens-and-Bathrooms/Kitchen-Units-www-kitchenunits-co-reviews_1463360
So, is Google's algorithm really that advanced if these can operator and push out legitimate sites?
Should we all just become spammers in this case?
-
In terms of reporting them, I've noticed that Google only allows you to produce a spam complaint for one URL at a time. Is there a way to add multiple URLs?
-
Well, for one particular competitive keyword they've steadily been climbing from page two, one, and are now in position number three.
I know what you mean about the payday loan sector too. That search is even more spammy than this industry.
-
If you have only recently noticed them then i guess they are fairly new and exploiting their honeymoon preiod with search engines. As Irving says I am sure they will be penalised soon.
We work with a brand that operates within the UK Payday Loan sector and we see spam sites being created on a daily and hourly basis. Using several illegal methods to get links they tend to gain top rankings for a few days / a week before Google gets on top of them.
If you want to try and raise these to Googles attention prior to this you could file a spam report through Webmaster tools.
-
It's just a matter of time until they get penalized. I see same phone number, same content, i'm sure same server.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Within the Q&A forum, is it spam to include a website in our signature?
Hello Mozzers! I've seen several contributors that end their questions and responses with a website. Just for the sake of the argument, this is an example: -- Some text about the response/question --- Hope I've helped. Gaston Riera www.domain-Gaston-company.com To clarify more, the URL does never have a link. I've always considered that this is a place to share and help other by ours/others expertise not to self promote implicitly our company.
Search Behavior | | Gaston Riera
So, my question is related to the rules and best practices in the forum: Is it spam to include a website in the signature of a message? Does Moz's community staff take some action about those? Thanks!
GR.0 -
SERP with no "www"
I have noticed that Google SERP without login is showing the domains without " www " - all of them. Have you seen this too? What does it mean for us?
Search Behavior | | Elchanan0 -
My website disappears off google!
So this might be kinda of a weird question... Every morning and night I check the ranking of a website that I am building.. The ranking has gone up a lot the last two months. It went from the fifth page to now the second page. I have a issue where some days I check Google my website is completely gone! I go through every page for my keyword and it's not there! After a couple of days of frustration I check again and all of a sudden it is there but now at a higher ranking... I went through the code to make sure there's a not a not follow code in the robots.txt page... Btw another weird thing is so then I look up my website on a google out of country like google.sg and I'm ranking first page like number 5 but again disappeared off google usa. Literally driving my crazy.. does anyone know why this could be? Btw the first time it disappeared I went into webmasters and sent a request because I thought I got penalized but they responded they could not find any spam and I was NOT penalized...
Search Behavior | | BecCan0 -
Post Panda SERP placement u-turn
Last week we had three terms for a client dive out of the top 100, they all ranked against a particular page, the three terms where where core words for the clients website ... strategic to his business. I assumed that it may have been due to the latest update by Google I assumed it was due to some poor inbound links to the pages (clients re sellers) and a slight abuse of anchor tags. The terms contained one keyword and two variations, a well know software brand. We ranked as high as number two, continually fighting the actual brands main website., but none the less outranking all other re-sellers. This week we are now back ranking higher for the main term (outranking the actual brands website) and the other two are back to where they ranked. Obviously I had organised to sit down with the client tomorrow to discus. Should I bury my head in the sand, rejoice at some fortune and hope the problem is not as bad as I thought, and hope the results stay static going forward ... or is this a chance to rectify those issues I saw with more clarity after the dive bomb of the three phrases last week. Has anyone else noticed anything similar ? Offer any advice ? Cheers John
Search Behavior | | Johnny4B0 -
When auditing a website, when do you decide to delete pages?
Given that the Panda algorithm includes engagement and user experience, when would you consider deleting a page that has poor engagement and conversion metrics? For example, consider a page that ranks well organically and receives (relatively) decent traffic from search. However, this page has poor engagement metrics compared to other pages on the site, does not convert visitors as well as other pages on the site, and doesn't have any external links. Would you consider deleting this page? Which metrics do you use when auditing a site and considering a web page from removal (bounce rate, average time on site, pages per visit, linking root domains, visits, revenue per visit, etc.)? Are some metrics weighed more than others? What kind of thresholds do you use? Finally, is there a situation when you would choose NOT to delete pages, even considering the above?
Search Behavior | | SAMarketing0 -
Seller rating in Serps
Hello everyone, I saw something weird today with my own site in Google: http://www.google.nl/webhp?hl=nl&tab=ww#hl=nl&sclient=psy-ab&q=xenon+h4&fp=534989fd828f8f2e&pws=0 The site you see position one is my site (HIDxenonverlichting.nl), you see the seller rating with the stars, but also nearly 2 rules of price information: ''Prijsklasse: Normale prijs: € 79,99 Tijdelijke prijs € 74,99 Inclusief 21% BTW & Gratis verzending!' At this site i don't even have MicroData installed for the reviews or prices, and i've never seen such a long price description in Google. So i was wondering, how could this happen, because i want this much information also at other product pages of course. But then first need to know how this happened? Regards, Yannick
Search Behavior | | iwebdevnl0 -
Have you seen any good articles on implementing customer reviews on an E-commerce website
Looking for a great article on implementing customer based review system with the ability to feed that data to Google with rich snippets.
Search Behavior | | WebResource0 -
Ranking multiple domains in the SERPS for same keywords?
Curious if anyone has had success ranking multiple sites with same whois and server info? We have a client who has purchased multiple businesses over the years in the same industry. Each site has a solid amount of link popularity already and good respected Brand. But I'm wondering with the whois info being the same and the same servers, if ranking for multiple domains will be worth attempting.
Search Behavior | | iAnalyst.com0